At the Student Learning Advisory Service here, we find (like others) that women are more likely to come forward for advice than are men. This varied somewhat in the period when we were physically located in the Computing Building, with many Computing students around; so, anecdotally, the sheer proximity / ease of immediate (and impromptu) access to advice may be a factor.
It is also different when we run our student retention initiative commencing in March before first year exams - we have a far more even gender balance, compared to the service that runs throughout the year - and there's some literature relating to advice seeking behaviour that is relevant here. In 2005, I did some small-scale research looking at issues of participation in the summer vacation phase of the same student retention programme. Gender was definitely a factor, and a colleague with a counselling background kindly directed me to literature about this, but from a health/counselling perspective. To quote from my paper:
'Research on help-seeking behaviour in relation to health shows that women, and older people, are more likely to seek help (Royal College of Psychiatrists, 2005) and that men are more likely to delay seeking help (Paul Galdas, Francine Cheater and Paul Marshall, 2005; David Sandman, Elisabeth Simantov and Christina An, 2000). In relation to counselling and to mental health, the University of Manchester's Counselling Service has found that amongst the younger student population, women are more likely to seek help, compared to men (undated reference). Massachusetts Institute of Technology reports that women, and older students, are more likely to seek help than are younger students and men (Naveen Sunkavelly, 2000). Though caution is needed in considering the transferability of such information beyond health-related fields, it may have some applicability to advice-seeking behaviour.'
I also concluded from this that men might be more likely to take part in one of our retention programmes starting in April, as 'late help-seekers', rather than take part in the guidance provision readily available throughout the year.
----- Original Message -----
From: John Hilsdon <
[log in to unmask]>
Date: Tuesday, August 14, 2007 5:42 pm
Subject: Re: Male students in HE
To:
[log in to unmask]>
>
> Hi David and all
>
>
>
> I am not sure much work has been done on the gender issues
> implied by
> your findings but certainly we've noticed some potentially similar
> things ...
>
>
>
> Here's an extract from our 2005 report about our one-to-one LD
> tutorialsat Plymouth. This was not examined in depth but,
> impressionistically, we
> related this to discipline area too - i.e. few students
> from the more
> 'male' areas - e.g., electronics, computing and engineering -
> make use
> of our services. I spent some time working mostly with Education
> students last year, and found that more males from that area
> were using
> LD than from other subject areas. I asked several of them informally
> about their thoughts on seeking help and found some to be a bit
> concerned about their image with 'the lads'. I asked some of the
> femalestudents about this and found them to be (on the whole)
> surprised anyone
> might be reluctant to ask for advice about studying. So far so
> stereotypical ...
>
>
>
> Does anyone else out there know of research on gender and HE
> participation with reference to males, attitudes, subject areas,
> take up
> of LD services etc?
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> * Take-up by gender
> continues to show a marked difference: over
> both years (03/4 and 04/5) many more female than male students
> used LD
> tutorials. This disparity has remained at a similar level since
> it was
> first reported in 2001/2 and in 2002/3
>
>
>
> Table three: Take-up by gender
>
> Gender
>
> Year
>
> Female
>
> Male
>
> 2003/4
>
> 173 (c 75%)
>
> 55 (c 25%)
>
> 2004/5
>
> 180 (c72%)
>
> 69 (c28%)
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> John Hilsdon
> Co-ordinator, Learning Development
> University of Plymouth
> Drake Circus
> Plymouth
> PL4 8AA
>
> 01752 232276
>
>
[log in to unmask] >
> http://www.plymouth.ac.uk/learn
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: learning development in higher education network
> [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of David Donnarumma (Staff)
> Sent: 10 August 2007 08:19
> To:
[log in to unmask]> Subject: Male students in HE
>
>
>
> Hello All,
>
> Over the last couple of years, we have increased the numbers of
> studentsthat we see at both workshops and on a one-to-one basis.
> Despiteincreasing numbers, we still have a larger proportion of
> female students
> (70:30). Taking advice from our Counselling Service, who have also
> looked at encouraging the take-up of their Service by male
> students, we
> organised a regular drop-in service (12 - 1 everyday). Although ratios
> have slightly improved, we still have have a majority of female
> studentswho access our service. We are (obviously) keen to
> increase male
> participation, and in the next academic year we will be running staff
> development sessions on gender issues. I have read some of the
> literature around gender (Burke, 2007; Skeggs, 1997) which looks
> at how
> individuals mis-recognise themselves and use education as a way to
> becoming respectable persons. Notably, how boys' masulinities are
> constructed in both FE and HE and their connenctions to wider society.
> However, I am struggling to find data / research on what institutions
> have successfully implemented with regard to improving the
> participationof male students in HE.
>
> If any of you have any experience of this issue, or can point me
> in the
> direction of any journal articles, it would be most helpful.
>
> Thanks,
>
> David
>
> David Donnarumma
> Effective Learning Adviser
> Learning Teaching and Development Unit, Lc019
>
[log in to unmask] > Direct Dial: 01895 267313
>
>
Dr Jan Sellers
Unit for the Enhancement of Learning and Teaching
Drill Hall Library
University of Kent, Medway Campus
Pembroke, Chatham Maritime, Kent ME4 4AG.
Telephone: 01634-888883
